By Capital Watch Media
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has alerted Nigerians about the operations of a new depot hired by an unnamed international trading company to blend substandard petroleum products in Nigeria.
It said the depot, located adjacent to its operations, was leased for the objective of blending substandard products that would be dumped into the market and bought by unsuspecting Nigerians.
The Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, made the allegation in a press statement on Sunday, stressing that the move threatens the nation’s refining industry and public safety.
The statement was in response to statements credited to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and other associations that the price of imported fuel is cheaper than what is being sold by the Dangote refinery.
It emphasised that any marketer claiming to sell PMS at a lower price than the current price is importing substandard products in connivance with international traders to flood the country with low-quality products.
Recently, oil marketers revealed that the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was between N1,015 and N1,028/litre depending on the quantity being purchased.
Based on this, the dealers vowed to import the commodity and sell it below the Dangote refinery price as well as the price being sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Although the refinery had denied the claims by the marketers, on Sunday it alleged that there was connivance with an international firm to blend and dump products into the market to compete with Dangote’s high quality.
The statement read, “We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations.
“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.
“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote refinery’s higher quality production.
